


How to Knit

by paintedshards



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Female Draco Malfoy, Female Harry Potter, Fluff, Knitting, M/M, Older Woman Draco Malfoy, Older Woman Harry Potter, POV Draco Malfoy, Post-Hogwarts, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 11:43:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20674838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedshards/pseuds/paintedshards
Summary: A lady celebrates her 70th birthday. She likes her guests to walk into her shoes for the time of knitting. Only the eyes remain the same. What happens if Draco and Harry knit together, without knowing.





	How to Knit

The sun is high in the sky, on a warm day at the end of spring. The birds in the garden are chirping, and the flowers blossom. There is a sweet scent in the air. "It's a lovely day to have a birthday party, is it not?" The lady on the bench turns around. "Yeah, it sure is." She looks comfortable enough, wool lying on her lap. "Do you mind if I sit down?" "Not at all. I would like some company. I have been sitting here for an hour now." She pads the seat next to her.

She looks like she could use some help. Her white curls almost reach her shoulders; she wears a cute light blue dress. She must be around 70, but so are all of us right now. Whatever it is on her lap, it doesn't look like a scarf at all. Or maybe she is supposed to knit something different. "What's your task?" She looks down at her lap, her glasses sliding down a bit, she pushes them back up. "Well, you could guess, but I think it wouldn't make any sense to do so. I really tried, but I am just rubbish at it. Well, if you must know, it was supposed to be a trivet." I can't hide a laugh. "Sorry. But did you just try to flatten the wool and stick it together somehow, so that it looks like a trivet?" She shrugs, it seems odd on her. "I didn't know how else to do it. I don't mind you laughing about it. They told me it was the easiest task."

"Could you help me?" She looks very desperate, and no one said that we couldn't help each other. "I know a bit about knitting myself. I've knitted quite a few things when my son was very young. And it can be calming." The woman looks doubtful. "I can't see that happening to me. I can't imagine it ever being calming. It's very stressful right now." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Let me show you."

I take my needles and wool. "Okay. So. You have to take the wool and put it between your fingers like that. See?" She takes her yarn and tries to do it the same way I did. "Great. And now you have to put this end over your thumb. Can you follow?" "Yes, but I think I have forgotten it already." "It doesn't matter. Now take your needles and put them in like this and then like that, and when you pull them out, you have your first loop. Depending on how many you'll need for your trivet, I think twenty or thirty should be enough, you have to continue this step until you reach this number." She tries to do the same but doesn't. I take both her hands in mine. "Just look what I do. We'll do it together for the first ten loops." Very slowly and gently, I take her hands and repeat the steps. "Thanks, I think I've got it now." I watch her hands as she proceeds, she does it very carefully and has to redo her steps often, but she does it.  
"I think this will be enough. So now you take out one of the needles, but be careful. If you lose your loops, you have to start anew. Just hold onto the wool with your thumb and your fingers." She does, she trembles a little. I take her hands back to show her the next steps. "That was very good. Now you have to go through each loop at a time and put the loose yarn through this hole. See?" "Can we do it together for the first round?" I nod. "Sure."

We knit together the next row, and she smiles at the end. "That was excellent. You are a natural. Now turn it around and knit this one the same way as the row before. I'll begin with my project. If you have any questions, just ask." I take my wool and needles and prepare the yarn to start the scarf. I can hear her cursing a few times when she drops a loop.

"Why couldn't I just draw her something. That would have been much easier and more fun." "I think if she had known that I could knit, she would have given me a different task as well." "There are others?" "I don't know, I just assumed. It would be weird if everyone would knit something. But it's Aliza's 70th birthday, who are we to refuse her wish?" "Yeah, you are right. I think it only needs to be finished and doesn't have to be perfect. Right?" Her eyes are looking straight into mine and go wide for a split second; they are so green, my heart beats way too fast. I can do this. "No, she didn't say anything about it being perfect. That's not how she is." Her shoulders relax. "Oh, thank God."

"So, you like to draw. What do you draw?" She puts her assignment down and searches her bag; something falls out. She reaches for it quickly and puts it back in the bag. It's a golden ring. She takes out a notebook and gives it to me. She blushes. "Well, yeah. You can look at it if you like to." "Oh, I would love to, thanks." I put my knitted work on my lap and take the book. It is old and used; the pages aren't entirely white. I open it. The drawings inside are all made with a pencil, birds, a park and flowers. "Beautiful. I could never draw like that. I often draw something with my son, but it doesn't look anywhere close to your art." She straightens herself. "Thank you. I had started with my kids, too, when they were small. They still like it, and sometimes we do it together. After a while, I realised how calming it was for me and how much I enjoyed it. I took a few classes. And now I love it. I take my scratch book with me, everywhere I go, and I draw as much as I can."

"Do you ever draw people?" "Yes, all the time. I mean, I used to. I have some in my other books; I just didn't have time for it yet with the new one. I took a break for a while and started this new book about four months ago, but I didn't really feel like drawing people, yet." Her expression is sad. "Don't worry. You'll know when it is the right time to start drawing people again." She smiles at me. "I could draw you. I mean, once this is all over." I laugh. "I would love that. But yes, let's wait until this day is over." She looks at me, curiously.

I know I shouldn't ask, I was raised not to ask any personal questions. But something inside me, tells me that I need to know. "Why did you take a break? Did something happen?" I am immediately sorry that I asked. I shouldn't have. "I didn't feel like it. My wife and I got divorced. I mean, we both saw it coming for a while, and it was the best decision, but still. You know. It was difficult for the kids; it still is. This morning I had realised that I was still wearing our wedding ring. And it was time to take it off. People don't know yet, that we have broken up, we wanted to keep it to ourselves as long as possible. I saw her here earlier, we talked about it and decided that it was time."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It was insensitive of me." She shakes her head. "No, really. It's fine. I just... You know, I just didn't feel like drawing people anymore. I mostly drew my family and then I didn't see them a lot anymore. They are staying with her at the moment since my job lets me work far too long." She seems to think about something. "It's about to change. I spoke to my boss, and I will have more time to spend with them. But they needed to find a replacement for me." "That's very reasonable."

We continue to knit quietly. She is much more pleasant than I would have thought. I am usually uneasy sitting next to someone not saying anything, but this it is nice. I enjoy it. This isn't likely going to happen again in the future, so I savour this moment.

"Are you seeing someone?" The question comes out of nowhere for me, but it's logical since I questioned her about her family. I should have thought better. This is not what I wanted. She doesn't know, and of course, she is just being kind. "I was married. She died." Now it's her turn to be shocked. She turns to me abruptly. "Oh my God, I am so sorry. No... That... I don't know why I... Sorry." She gnaws on her lower lip as if she doesn't know what to do. She shakes her head, more to herself; then she takes my hand. I flinch. I am not used to people touching me; others than my son and mother. I don't take my hand away; it is welcome.

"It was ten years ago. She died after our son was born. It was one of the saddest moments of my life, combined with the birth of my son, which was the most brilliant moment of my life. I haven't married again or been in a relationship. Well, I have dated, but it never lasted very long. There has only ever been one other person besides my wife that I cared for in that way. But it was never meant to be. So, I am okay like that, I meet people occasionally, but that's as far as it goes."

That has to be enough; I usually don't talk that much about myself, now is not the time, maybe later, once this party is over and she is still interested to know more. "That must have been hard. I bet you and your son are very close."

I think about the bracelet he made for me and reach for it on my wrist. Then I remember, it broke this morning, I put it in my pocket. It has to be in the bag now, I hope. I open the bag looking for it. "Ahh, thank Merlin. Here it is." She seems confused. "Oh right, well, my son made it for me. I have been wearing it for years; it tore apart just before I got here. Since they have our wands, I couldn't repair it. I usually never take it off." She looks at it for a long time. "Your son is gifted. Truly beautiful." I can't tell if she disagrees with the Slytherin colours. She only nods. "We're both Slytherins. Does that bother you?" "What? No, of course not." She shakes her head quickly. "Good." "Slytherins can be fascinating." She smiles. I can't tell if she is joking.

"How are you almost finished with your knitting?" She points at my nearly finished green scarf; showing her trivet to me. "You're also almost done. That's great. Ehm... I think I will leave now. It was delightful talking to you." I get up from the bench, take my almost finished scarf and put it in the bag. "See you later."

"Wait." She grabs my wrist. I can't stay. "No, I have to…" "How do I finish this? What do I have to do now?" She holds up her knitted work. Right. I sit down again, not taking out my scarf. "I'll show you the first ones, and you'll finish the rest on your own. All right?" She nods. "Together?" She asks and takes my hand before I can say no, not that I would have. I look down to hide my blush. "Yeah. Okay."

We did half of the last row, I get up, and she smiles at me. "Thanks. See you later."

I walk to the other side of the park. It is vast, full of different kind of wildflowers and plants. There is an empty bench; I look around. People are gathering in the centre of the park; they appear no longer as older women. No one is close enough to see me. I complete my scarf and join them.

Aliza is standing in the heart of the circle. Everyone has their knitted work in their hands. Some people are still sitting and knitting, they got help to finish in time. I recognise most of the people.

Once the other's finished their assignment, they join us.

A few guests walk around and give us glasses with sparkling wine or water. When everyone has their glass, Aliza starts her speech. "Thank you all for coming today. It was a great delight for me to see you all engaging in my favourite hobby and enjoying it as well. You may choose to do with your knitted art, whatever you prefer. I already have enough for myself. I hope you all enjoyed being someone else for this short amount of time, and maybe some of you have found that not everyone is as they first seem to be. Your wands will be in the lockers you put them in; they are ready to collect. I hope you'll stay for the buffet. To all of us." She raises her glass.

I put my empty glass on a table next to me, and look through the crowd; Potter is watching me, beaming. He walks towards me. "I like this look more on you." He says. "You knew it was me." Potter laughs loudly. "Of course, I did. Not at first. But the second I saw into your eyes, I knew." I feel myself redden again. "And you stayed." He beams. Does he know how terribly beautiful his smile is? "Yeah. When did you know it was me?" I don't have to think about it. "The instant I sat down. I saw your glasses, and when you looked at me, I was sure." "And you stayed as well," Potter says happily. "Thanks again, for the help. I didn't know you could knit." "You don't know a lot of things about me, Potter."

I put the scarf around Potter's neck. He looks confused. "Well, I was promised a drawing. I thought it was only fair to provide you with something I designed." He scratches his neck and takes a deep breath. "Thanks." He leans forward and presses a faint kiss on my cheek; before I can react or realise what's happening, it's already over. "Sorry," he whispers, his face turning pink, but his eyes don't leave mine. I reach for the scarf, draw him towards me, and press a soft kiss to his lips. "You are welcome."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. =)
> 
> I like comments. <3


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